As a successful entrepreneur, it’s easy to feel like we have everything figured out. But the reality is we never truly do. There’s always someone out there who knows a little more or sometimes a lot more than we do in specific areas. Today, we’re talking about the value of financial mentorship for entrepreneurs.
No one person knows everything. That’s why it’s so important to have people around you who have more knowledge and experience in different areas. As an entrepreneur, you need a team around you. You’re great at what you do but how do you bring in others who are great at what they do, so everyone can help each other succeed? The bottom line is simple: better teamwork leads to better results.
No one has the market cornered on great ideas. Take taxes, for example. The U.S. tax code is over 14,000 pages long and no one person understands it all. But there are people who specialize in specific sections and know them better than most.
We see this all the time with business owners who rely heavily on just their CPA or attorney. Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing but sometimes, those advisors don’t want to admit they don’t know something. This is especially true in the financial services industry. There are countless approaches to personal and business finance and just as many opinions on what works best.
Lawyers are excellent at law. CPAs are great with taxes specifically, the areas they focus on. But there are other CPAs who specialize in different parts of the tax code. So, how do you find the right people who align with your goals and bring them together to help you make the best financial decisions?
Here’s the challenge: You’ve got someone handling the legal side of your business. Someone else focused on taxes. And another advisor managing the finance side. But they’re all working in their own corners, disconnected from one another.
We call this the Three Blind Mice approach. The legal advisor doesn’t know what the tax or finance advisor is doing. The tax advisor doesn’t know what legal and finance are doing. And the finance advisor doesn’t know what tax and legal are doing. They’re all giving you advice maybe even accurate advice based on limited information. And here’s the curse of being an entrepreneur: We tend to put people in boxes, and mentally limit them to only one role. But that mindset can cause problems over time. So what’s the solution?
Bring your team together. Make sure everyone is aligned and communicating. That way, each advisor can give better, more tailored guidance based not just on their own knowledge, but also on what the rest of your team is doing.
Here’s how we look at it: You, the client, are the head coach. Your legal advisor might be the offensive line. Your finance expert is the running back. Your tax pro could be the quarterback. We’re applying for the role of offensive coordinator the one who pulls it all together and ensures everything runs smoothly. That approach is way more effective than keeping people stuck in silos. And the truth is, a lot of our specialties overlap. We know a bit about everything but we’re not the experts. Only the experts are the experts. So it’s essential to find the right ones and make sure they’re working together to move you forward.
Let me tell you a quick story. We met a business owner about 7 or 8 years ago. He said: “I’ve got two financial advisors and a CPA I meet with monthly. If there was anything important I needed to know, they would’ve told me.” We simply said: “Nobody has the market cornered on good ideas. Maybe we can offer a fresh perspective something that could benefit you and even help your existing advisors.” Sure enough, the strategy we recommended was completely different from what his other advisors were suggesting. In the end, he became a client. His CPA became a client and even his attorney became a client. Why? Because our approach is built specifically for entrepreneurs.
We look at everything through the lens of control. Will this financial decision give you more control or less control? And control means this: Liquidity. Use. Control of your money.
That way, you can build up a pool of cash and leverage it to pursue your goals without disrupting all the other pieces of your plan.
Now, here’s another common belief among entrepreneurs: “If I just land one big deal, it’ll solve all my problems.” And when that deal does come through, sure things may feel better, for a little while.
But if you don’t use that cash efficiently and strategically, you’ll find yourself right back where you started. You have to plug the holes in your leaky bucket and that’s exactly what our approach helps business owners do. Many people believe that earning more income will fix their finances. But if you have inefficiencies in your cash flow or leaks in your “circle of wealth” those problems won’t go away. In fact, they grow as your income grows. That’s why it’s so important to start now to fix the inefficiencies and start keeping more of your money. That way, you’ll build real financial security as your business grows.
If you’d like to learn more about how to put these strategies to work for your business and your family, visit us at tier1capital.com. We’d love you to schedule a free strategy session where we look at your specific situation and talk about how to help you regain control. And remember, It’s not how much money you make. It’s how much money you keep that really matters.